Cooke & Arkwright
News
Greggs savours 100th shop deal and is hungry for more
13/05/04
The South Wales division of Greggs plc took another bite of the Welsh bakery market with the opening of its 100th shop in the region on 7th May 2004.
The acquisition of Unit 2, The Aspect in Cardiff’s Queen Street is its eleventh in Cardiff and the 65th in Wales, and the company says it is hungry for more. One of the leading national specialists in bakery related takeaway food, Greggs says it aims to open a further 500 shops throughout the UK by 2010.
Huw Thomas of Cooke & Arkwright, which acted for Greggs and has been its agent for the past fifteen years, said, “The Greggs unit within The Aspect is in a highly visible location which will attract the Queen Street shoppers and office workers from nearby Newport Rd. This completes the letting of the commercial element at the Aspect following the recent letting to Zushi and with unit 3 under offer to a national retailer.” He revealed that Greggs continue to be on the lookout for further suitable premises throughout South Wales as part of its planned expansion, notably in locations to the west of Carmarthen and within the towns on the border with England.
The production space at the headquarters of Greggs’ South Wales Division in Treforest has recently been enlarged by 4,000 square feet. Managing director Steve Smith said that it was to accommodate a growing business. “We are delighted that the division has opened its 100th shop in May 2004, giving us double cause for celebration,” he said. “This is the same month in which Greggs celebrates the 20th anniversary of its flotation as a public company.” Founded in Tyneside in the 1930s, Greggs currently has over 1200 outlets throughout the UK and made a pre-tax profit of £40.5 million in 2003, up 10.4 percent on the previous year. Its South Wales Division employs 1,400 people including 1,000 in Wales.